by C L Walker
So, I did what I shouldn’t, what I didn’t think I was capable of doing and I popped her right in the jaw and sent her back into the table behind her.
She righted herself quickly and covered her face with both her hands and I saw blood dribble down from the side of her mouth.
Sora stood immediately, stepped over to me, wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me against him as I had been just about to go for her again. He restrained me but he didn’t say anything, and Amber was also quiet beside me, but she was no longer crying and that was good enough for me.
Rachel wiped the blood from her lip in silence, she was too much of a coward to fight back and I had expected as much.
“You fucking hypocrite, you may wonder why people don’t like you well this is why. You’re shit Rachel, you backstabbed the only person who gave a damn about you,” I said angrily. “You could have gone for anyone else’s man so why hers? Why Amber?”
“Why not?” she asked with feigned confidence, and it made me want to wipe the floor with her face so I struggled against Sora again to get to her even though I knew he wouldn’t let up. “If you could actually get a man, I’d go for yours next.” She winked at me before she slid her phone into her pocket and picked up her coffee off her table.
She acted like none of it fazed her, but I saw the sheen in her eyes, the tremble in her jaw and the way her hands shook as she grabbed her cup and walked past me.
I turned my head as far as I could to watch her walk behind the counter where she found a place next to the door as if she thought she was safer behind the counter.
I tried to twist my body around, but Sora’s arms were still firmly around me as one hand laid against my stomach and applied pressure while the other was wrapped tightly below my breasts.
I kept wiggling until he got the point and turned us around to face her even though he didn’t let go of me because he knew better than that.
“Don’t be like the people that hurt you Rachel, you may feel loved right now, but it will fade. In the end you will be alone if you don’t treat people right and demand they do the same to you.” I said, sounding a lot calmer than I had a minute before.
She turned towards me again and tears were finally sliding down her cheeks and suddenly I felt sorry for her. Sorrier than I felt for Amber, because at the end of the day Amber knew she wasn’t alone and that she was loved. She’d move on with the help of her family and me and she would not be broken by this for long.
But Rachel was on a path leading nowhere if she chose to be that kind of person. Someone who covets what others have, someone who was cruel because she felt unloved and thought it was okay to do to others what had been done to her.
Rachel glanced at Amber and I wondered if she wanted to say sorry but even if she had, she said nothing because Amber turned away from her to look at me instead.
It was useless to say sorry when she was probably still seeing Jake anyways.
When Rachel walked into the back of the shop I could finally breathe again, it all happened so fast and was over even faster.
Shit, I punched her!
With Rachel gone I finally became aware of my surroundings once again.
I tipped my head back and looked behind me at Sora’s face and he slowly slid his arms from around me.
I was surprised when he let his fingers slowly glide across my stomach, a single finger grazed the skin below my shirt, and I shivered even as I tried to look unaffected.
When my eyes widened, he gave me a small knowing smile.
So, it was like that huh?
“Go ahead,” I said, as I put my hands on my hips. I was already geared up to fight so I figured I might as well take him on as well.
Red was still sitting at their table sipping on her coffee with a smile on her face like it was a typical day in the neighborhood. She was probably enjoying yet another drama showing at my expense, but I couldn’t complain if my audience was happy.
“Go ahead and what?” he asked, as he reached for my right hand that I had slugged Rachel with.
“Scold me, point out my flaws and how immature I am.” I shrugged my shoulders. “You know, tell me what a bad girl I am, that sort of thing.”
He examined my knuckles in silence for a moment and I tried to act like my hand in his wasn’t turning me into Jell-O.
He let go of it too soon and put his in the pocket of his black hoodie and looked down at me as if he had just realized something about me.
“No, I won’t say any of those things. I don’t agree with your methods, but I can’t fault you for sticking up for your friend. Your loyalty is admirable.”
I didn’t say anything as Amber came up beside me and hooked her arm in mine, and I recalled I needed to get her out and away from everyone’s stares.
“Suspicious,” I said, and he shook his head and laughed softly. “Alright well it’s been real, thanks for holding me back I guess, it would have been bad if I had body slammed her like I wanted and beat her with a chair.”
“I’m glad I could stop you from going WWE on your classmate. At least I’ve succeeded in modifying one of your bad behaviors.”
“I didn’t know you were trying to fix me, and here I thought you were simply trying to survive me.”
He winked and said, “That too.”
Red joined our circle and he turned towards her and gave her a smile that served to remind me that I had no idea if they were an item or not.
“You’re something else Kyla,” she said brightly.
“Thanks… I think?”
“It’s definitely a compliment, I feel as though there’s never a dull moment when you are around.” We all laughed at that because from her perspective it was true.
“It’s my pleasure to bring you entertainment although next time I think I’ll refrain from getting physical.”
Sora’s eyes squinted slightly in disbelief, he never seemed to trust anything that came out of my mouth since he sported a look of disbelief and suspicion around me most of the time.
“You better hope she doesn’t go to the police,” he said, and I sighed over the serious direction of the conversation.
“I don’t think she will,” I said as if it didn’t matter to me either way.
“Kyla,” he said in a tone that let me know that he was worried about my lack of concern.
“Look its fine, I knew what was at risk and I made a choice,” I said, “and I’m sure that she won’t report me because then she would have to admit what she had done.”
He nodded his head. “If you say so, but if I have to go in as a witness, you’re going to owe me for taking up more of my time.”
“Yes sir,” I said, as I wouldn’t mind owing him one bit. “Well I’m going to get her out of here.”
We said our goodbyes and when we were barely out of the door, Amber started talking but it came out as more of a chant. “I’m okay, really, this is good I need to focus on me anyways. I am young and I’ve been with him for so long that he’s all I know and that’s honestly the hardest part. I’m sad and hurt but I also know I will get over it.”
I hugged her closely and told her that she was right, because she was strong.
We spent the rest of the afternoon snuggling and watching 80’s romance movies such as Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles and Can’t Buy me Love, to restore our faith in romance.
Later when I was ready to go home and get ready for dinner, I felt bad leaving her, but she insisted that she wanted to be alone.
“I’m here whenever you need me, just call me back over,” I said.
She started crying again and I hugged her but pulled away when she started cracking up a moment later. “I still can’t believe you punched her, I love you, you know that right?”
I gave her my best shit eating grin and kissed her cheek. “And I love you, so I’ll beat the whole world into submission if you need me to.”
“Not today, today you have a man to reel in. You’re almost there girl, but what are you going
to do once you have him?”
“I have no idea what one does with a man, keep him I suppose?” I said, because I didn’t have a solid plan.
“I thought you were trying to get in his pants since dating was impossible, now you’re going to keep him? Like what, your prize possession?”
“No, I don’t know how this is all supposed to work out! But I like him.”
Her eyebrows rose even higher than they did at my unintelligent ramblings. “I didn’t realize you actually like him Ky, you’re in trouble.”
“Why?” I asked, wondering if she meant more than the obvious.
“Because he’s your teacher?” She waited but I deadpanned. “How are you going to be in a relationship with your teacher and get away with it? And what makes you think he will go for it? Yes, it’s obvious he wants you but that want may not go beyond a night.”
I continued to deadpan if only to frustrate her.
“A night would be wiser, just one!” she said.
But I wasn’t that kind of girl, although I also wasn’t the kind of girl that shamelessly flirted and stripped in the window of my parents’ home either, and for a teacher no less.
I was breaking the mold daily.
“This is fine,” I said, and walked out of her bedroom and shut the door on her next words.
I stopped outside of the door to listen to her yell. “This is not fine, you reckless ass white girl!”
I laughed as I ran down her stairs, she was right after all, so I didn’t bother arguing.
Chapter 17
Kyla
“What?” I asked my mom again after I had just spent the last hour getting ready.
She rolled her eyes as she repeated herself for the third time. “Sora canceled,” she said slowly, since I was clearly not understanding. “So,” she continued, “your father and I are going out to dinner with Tina and Martin. Do you follow?”
“Yeah but I just… whatever alright. But why did he cancel?”
“He said he’s not feeling well so he took a rain check, but it works for me since we were invited out this morning anyways.”
He had been perfectly fine that morning, so I didn’t believe his reason for canceling.
Maybe Red was over and they were staying in together.
I shook myself because I was so not going down that road.
But what if…and after last night...
No.
That'd be too cruel even for him.
“Okay, when will you be home?” I asked casually, even though I had already decided I was either going to hardcore spy on him or walk over there and interrogate him and I needed a time frame.
“Probably ten o’clock and they are coming over for drinks afterwards. I have to go now your dad is waiting in the car. Love you, pumpkin.”
“Bye mama, love you.”
I waited ten minutes after they left to sneak out of our back door and ninja my way over to his. I looked all around to make sure no one could see and bent super low and stealthy like and ran to the fence that separated our yards and jumped over it.
I knocked on his backdoor and waited impatiently for him to open it as I pushed images of him rolling around in bed with Red out of my mind.
Finally, he opened the door and I frowned immediately when I realized he was only wearing boxer briefs, which somehow confirmed my suspicions for no apparent reason.
I turned to walk away immediately because I felt foolish, but he grabbed my arm and yanked me inside and shut the door behind us.
He turned me around to face him, put his arm against the door as I leaned against it and caged me in. “Why are you here Kyla?”
I shrugged my shoulders and mentally asked myself the same question but his proximity scrambled my thoughts even more.
He looked annoyed as he turned abruptly and strode through his kitchen and I followed behind him as I looked around expecting to find Red.
When we went through his living room, I was surprised to see all his furniture was covered with sheets and there were a few paint buckets sitting on a table. It really solidified the differences between us, he was an actual adult who owned a house and did house repairs on it. I was a teenage adult who was still in high school that had no job and lived with her parents.
What the hell did I have to offer him aside from myself?
“I heard you were sick, you seemed fine earlier, so I was wondering if you really ditched us for Red.” I cringed at the sound of insecurity in my voice.
He must have heard it too because he had been walking up the first few steps of his stairs when he stopped and turned around suddenly, which caused me to run into him.
“I get it now. So, you thought you’d come over here and see for yourself, did you? Is that it? Did the image of me touching someone else make you jealous? Or did you want to watch?”
I didn’t reply because what was I supposed to say? It was stupid, why did I go there?
Maybe I wanted to know because I could give him up properly if he was someone else’s. But he was right, that’s exactly why I had shown up and the answer must have been written clear as day on my face.
He had a dark glint in his eyes that had me stepping away as he reached for me and pulled on my arm.
When I pulled back in protest, he wrapped his arm around my waist and practically dragged me upstairs. “Come on, you wanted to see it and once you have, maybe you’ll get some sense and leave me alone.”
I fought back harder, I didn’t want to see her in his bed, and I didn’t want her to see me. I felt like I was going to cry, and I wasn’t about to do it around him.
I felt so incredibly stupid.
I didn’t understand why he even let me in if she was upstairs, and I regretted mindlessly following him inside in the first place.
We got to the top of the stairs and he pulled me to the left down the hallway and I completely dropped myself to the ground to make it harder for him to pull me.
“Let me go Sora, you’re right okay I’ll stop. I get it.”
“No, you don’t,” he said, as he bent down and wrapped both his arms around me just below my breasts and hoisted me up.
Once I was standing again, he picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder and I immediately began beating his back.
His room was a dark wine color, had black furniture, and there was a tv playing in the corner.
I noticed his pants he had been wearing were dropped by the door which made no sense because I knew he had a hamper, so I figured he must have thrown them off in his haste to get in bed with her.
I was on the verge of having a melt down due to my humiliation when he threw me on his bed and I shrieked as my back hit the mattress and I sunk into his dark grey comforter.
He stood at the foot of his bed with his arms folded across his chest and an incredulous look on his face.
But I was the one who was confused, I looked around and realized Red wasn’t in the room. Which didn’t make me feel any less stupid.
I sprang up to make my get away and he pushed me back down.
“What’s the matter Kyla?” he asked.
He really was cruel.
“Fuck you, let me leave before she gets out of the bathroom or wherever the hell she is!” I got on my knees in front of him, so I didn’t feel as small and tried to be stern, but he didn’t budge.
He sighed and let his arms fall to his sides, then he turned around and walked to his dresser and pulled out a pair of black joggers and put them on.
“You really are a ridiculous woman,” he said.
I ignored him and made for the door but stopped when he called out to me.
“She’s not here, before you had showed up, I had just finished painting my living room and yes I did so in my underwear because it’s my house and I can.”
I turned around to find him close behind me, he nodded his head towards the stairs, and I took the hint and walked down them silently.
Once downstairs he walked into the kitchen and started going through h
is cupboards. “Are you hungry?” he asked, before he pulled out a pizza box from his mostly empty fridge. When I didn’t answer he stopped what he was doing and turned towards me. “Are you going to say something?”
“You’re an asshole,” I muttered.
He laughed and opened the pizza box and grabbed a bunch of slices and set them on a plate to microwave. “You realized that some time ago and yet you are still here.”
Good point.
He was an asshole and apparently, I really was a newly found masochist. “So, if she’s not here why didn’t you come to dinner?”
I walked over to the center island and sat on a bar stool as he grabbed two sodas from his fridge and sat beside me.
He twisted my stool around, so I was facing him, and my left leg ended up between his legs and my right was on the outside of his.
I was next level freaking out inside from the contact and he was laughing at me for it.
“This is why I didn’t come to dinner,” he said simply, as he opened my soda for me before he opened his and took a long drink.
I watched his throat work in wonder, everything about him was sexy to me, even his throat. “No use in denying it anymore is there?” he asked when I still hadn’t found my words.
There wasn’t any use after he had gotten turned on as he watched me get nearly naked, that had been my plan but I was still shocked it worked and that he was being so touchy with me.
“I don’t quite understand what you mean by that Mr. Tanaka, care to explain or are you going to continue being an ass even after what you did to me upstairs.”
I wanted him to say it, I wanted to hear it from his lips, that he wanted me, and that he knew something was happening between us.
“There are worse things I could have done to you upstairs,” he said with a fierce look in his eyes, that had me grabbing my soda and guzzling half of it down for a distraction.
He ran his hand through his hair before he slapped it down on his thigh, he looked like he was truly giving up and I hoped that was good for me.
“Okay this is why I didn’t go.” He pointed at my face. “As in, the look on your face. Really who the hell is going to see that face and not know you want to jump my bones darlin?”